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What Category Do You Fall In

4K views 35 replies 31 participants last post by  yellodog 
#1 ·
Are you mister calm cool and collected or are you the overly anxious type ? Don’t think there is a right or wrong answer here but we all fall somewhere in the spectrum of which I am about to describe. Also think success can be had at any level of the spectrum. There are hunters who scout and know where the deer are. They know when the conditions are right and also know when it’s best to stay out of the woods. They have years of experience and knowledge and to the naked eye not even seem very enthusiastic about hunting. If the conditions aren’t right they are quite content to stay home sipping coffee looking out the window. Perhaps running some errands or getting some chores done around the house. They are totally unaffected by not being in a tree and know eventually the conditions will be in their favor and that’s when they will hunt. Then you have the other type of hunter who feels like maximizing their tree time is their ticket to success. Doesn’t matter if it’s unseasonably warm or if it’s too windy. They don’t care if it’s pouring rain or there is a full moon. They will hunt mornings and evenings all throughout the season and start doing all day sits during the last week of October. They beat themselves up and run themselves ragged hunting far from the road. Dragging themselves out of bed day after day questioning there sanity.

I personally fall in the second category but wish I was more of the calm cool and collected type. For whatever it’s just not in my DNA. I pretty much want to be hunting any time I have the opportunity providing it doesn’t effect my home life.

So what category do you fall into ? Do you hunt like a wise veteran or are you a little crazy like me ?

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks
 
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#2 ·
I'm on the crazy side. I wish I had time to scout more so I could be more informed on where the deer are at in the woods. But I'm a meat hunter. Once the freezer is full I could care less about being out everyday and then I rarely go out unless someone needs help or needs an extra guy pushing. I'm an everyday I can kind of guy until 3-4 deer are in the freezer. Every year I want to get my deer early so I can move onto hunting species that I neglect every year until I get a deer. I long for days of squirrel hunting and just taking my shotgun for walk, but if I don't have enough meat in the freezer I would rather hunt deer till then. Sometimes the guys that are calm cool and collected miss on the crazy things that happen on days when you see no deer.



So basically I need a high paying 10 hour a week job so I can be out at all times... It's really quite simple...
 
#3 ·
In between. Early and late season I can take it or leave it. I guess I am pretty chill about it. I don't get enthusiastic about patterning deer, it's just not the way I prefer to hunt. I live for the rut, when anything can happen at any time. I focus my scouting on nailing down that timeframe. I view the first couple weeks as just gathering intel for the rut.

Rifle season I am chill AF as the kids say. To me that season is all about family, all about the kids, that's like communal hunting season for me. Rifle I am perfectly content to be camp chef and deer dragger. I haven't shot a deer with a rifle in several years but I eagerly look forward to it every year just for the tradition of it and I think this year the tradition is going to be even better with another hunting day.

From now through rifle season I would hunt every day if I could, but I can't. I've learned to pick my days and luckily I have a job where to some degree I can do that. But I die a little inside every day I have to work in November.
 
#4 ·
I hunt like a wise veteran. Not because I am a wise veteran (certainly not), but because the rest of my life doesn't allow me the time to hunt like the crazy guys. My work days are 12 hours, so hunting on a work day is out because it's dark when I go in and almost dark when I get out. I work every other weekend and the off weekends, I have to consider my wife because those are the only days we are off at the same time. I usually sneak out on a weekday morning once or twice a week.
 
#6 ·
I am not in love with deer hunting like some are. I would much rather hunt turkeys or bears than deer. But I tend toward the second type here just because I love to sit in the woods and watch. I've hunted the same spots for years so I pretty much know them. I'll shoot the first legal buck I see, which is in a 3-up area so it tends to be at least an 8 point, and I am happy with that so I can focus on my preferred species to hunt. This year, the first legal buck I had a chance at happened to be a 10 point that field dressed at 192 pounds....Now on to my turkey and bear scouting....
 
#8 ·
This is me 100%

***They don’t care if it’s pouring rain or there is a full moon. They will hunt mornings and evenings all throughout the season and start doing all day sits during the last week of October. They beat themselves up and run themselves ragged hunting far from the road. Dragging themselves out of bed day after day questioning there sanity.***

I like it this way. I much prefer being out in the woods hunting than doing anything else really. Kudu mentions being in love with hunting, I AM. I LOVE HUNTING DEER AND ILL SCREAM IT FROM THE MOUNTAIN TOPS!

But in all seriousness, we get a limited amount of time to hunt (unless your one of the 10% that hunt on Sundays HAHAHAHAHA) and i take advantage of the short season!

My family knows whats up and they also know that the other 10 months of the year I am at the beckon call all day every day. Hunting season is where I gain some traction and regain my sanity. It's really soul filling for me, regardless of whether or not I see a deer. When I get to the rut, it's even worse because you know that even if you don't set up properly you could still see deer. I don't have a lot of hobbies outside of hunting, so that's really it for me. I pour all of my effort into doing this and I like the way I do it. Crazy? Sure, sing me up, I'm certifiable when it comes to hunting deer.
 
#31 ·
This is me 100%

***They don’t care if it’s pouring rain or there is a full moon. They will hunt mornings and evenings all throughout the season and start doing all day sits during the last week of October. They beat themselves up and run themselves ragged hunting far from the road. Dragging themselves out of bed day after day questioning there sanity.***

.
Heck. That is so me I did my first all dayer today, the 19th and I've only missed morning/night sits 3 times this year. No archery in steady rain. Ethics for me.

Even when it's not hunting season it's about deer. Food plots, tractors, cameras, stands, habitat improvements. It truly never ends. It's my one true passion.
 
#9 ·
I am both. I have certain stands and areas that I will not go into until the time is right. When the time is right it is game on. When the time is not right, I hunt other areas relying on just plain old time in the stand paying off. I have killed deer both ways.

I enjoy hunting too much to sit at home waiting for the optimum time or place. In my mind, if that is what one chooses to do, they are missing much of what the hunt is all about and are too focused on just killing something and not enjoying the sport. But, if that is what they want to do, who am I to be critical of them.
 
#14 ·
I enjoy hunting too much to sit at home waiting for the optimum time or place. In my mind, if that is what one chooses to do, they are missing much of what the hunt is all about and are too focused on just killing something and not enjoying the sport. But, if that is what they want to do, who am I to be critical of them.
Off season is meant for hunting. In season is meant for killing. >:)
 
#10 ·
I have a touch of both:

Having small children (7 and under) and a job that has a "busy season" from October through December (end of Fiscal Year rush, prep for the next FY) leaves me without the ability to spend as much time in the woods as I'd like... so my hunts are scheduled basically as soon as the PGC posts the dates.
My workaround for this has been several weekend "prep trips" throughout the year. Building/maintaining multiple blinds/stands, working food plots, lane clearing, working cameras, hinge-cuts to create funnels, creating cover, etc.
This makes for increased chances of success, even if conditions are sub-optimal when scheduled hunts come around. I know where the deer will (should) be for given conditions, and can adapt by selecting the best predetermined spot on the property for the given conditions.
I still get anxious the few weeks leading up to the hunts, but that's more excitement/anticipation than worry. Once I park my butt in the blind, a calm settles over me.
I've filled tags in rain, snow, wind, full moon, no moon, unseasonable heat, extreme cold... basically every condition, except for a true blizzard.... That was a long sit, and a longer ride out... Still, a good time.
 
#11 · (Edited)
I guess I fall into the wild catagory. I'm an old guy, been hunting on a senior lisence for a few years now, so I have time to go, and I do as often as my health lets me. By spending the time in a few different stands I learn more about how the deer are moving now, as well as how many other hunters or hikers, bird watchers etc. are invading the deers' territory, and if it's worth hunting a particular stand.

I have one stand that's consistant once the crops are down, that I never would have put up if I had not watched deer there just a whole lot of times. The stand I shot my buck from this year I put up because I watched larger deer using that area OCCATIONALLY, but from the stand talked about at the start of this paragraph.

I guess I would have to classify the way I hunt as a continual in-season scouting on purpose. I spend lots of time in the stand,(with Elaine's blessing), watch much more than I pull the trigger, and love it almost as much as that wonderful woman who's put up with it all for so many years with not even one complaint.

One final note: When the wind is "wrong", I simply watch another direction. Worked a couple weeks ago.
 
#13 · (Edited)
I am going out in the morning fully expecting to be miserable by 8:00 with the rain. At the same time I found fresh sign made by a big buck on Saturday. I could easily convince myself to stay home knowing full well that the buck most likely won’t be coming through there during daylight in the rain . At the same time what if he does ? The only way to find out is by being there . If I were to sleep in and not go I would spend the day probably regretting that decision and wondering what if he came through ? I just seem to ask for punishment every season but I can’t help myself. One of the things that really tests me is a few times every season I will leave the house with a plan in mind regarding a new location and setup only to find out it’s not what I anticipated. End up hunting it regardless knowing full well it’s not going to be a good night or morning and second guess my decision the entire hunt. Not easy to get up the next day and do it all over again when that happens.
 
#16 ·
I'm a mixture. I hunt every chance i get but try to be smart about it. It's possible to kill a nice buck every day of the season if you know what they're doing. I have 20hrs in stand already and have laid eyes on 3 nice bucks. I like the consistency early season can bring not the randomness of the rut. That being said I hunt usually 3 times a week during early season and have leave scheduled from Oct 24 to the end of the season. I don't prefer the rut but I'll still hunt everyday!
 
#17 ·
I'm one of the crazy hunter and I'm almost always in the woods scouting,pulling cameras or moving them,shed hunting and just looking for answers about things from yr to yr ! My wife says I'm getting carried away with this hunting stuff ! She just has no idea !!
Some times I wonder if being in the woods so much hurts me in the long run !
 
#18 ·
Between Pa. and Ohio I could probably hunt a different spot everyday and never hunt the same spot twice the whole season. For me I don't run trail cameras and only own three, so this time of year it's a constant search for hot buck sign. There ain't no mountain high enough and there ain't no valley deep enough to keep me from searching for a good buck. Most of my scouting this time of year is with my gear ready to hunt, when I found what I consider good buck sign I usually will just stand there studying the terrain and wind. I ask myself what would an old buck do when entering this area and devise a plan and hunt. I've passed on two bucks so far that were right at P&Y. Maybe someday when I'm older I'll use more trail camera's and maybe spend less time walking, but just not there yet.
 
#19 ·
I'm basically an addict. I generally hunt 5 to 6 days a week and use most of my vacation days for hunting deer or spring turkey. Probably the only days I'm not hunting are rain (because it can wash the blood away) and really hot days (because if you have to let a deer sit overnight the meat will be spoiled by morning). Once the season ends I start scouting again and trying to improve the habitat on the family property. Summer I'm working on food plots, moving stands, checking trail cams or shooting a few 3D events. I used to shoot my bow 5-6 days a week all summer but my shoulder can no longer take that. Now it's a couple of days a week.


Sometimes I wonder if it's worth it because my success has not mirrored all the effort I put in. But I enjoy shooting a bow and spending time in the woods so the addiction will continue.
 
#20 ·
I have three kids going in three different directions, a wife to (try) and keep happy, and a job that has a busy fall period. So when I have a few days scheduled off to hunt or go away to camp or wherever for hunting - you can be sure I'm going ... regardless if its supposed to rain for all three days or whatever.

Like someone else said - its my time to reset and hopefully restock the freezer. My trips in rifle season usually involve my oldest son - so I'm much more relaxed about me shooting anything and focus on him. Over the past few seasons, we started going to the camp of a friend he made playing dek hockey and hunting with his friend and his dad & extended family. Having not grown up in the hunting camp community - Its really become one of my favorite trips of the year. Spending time with him & watching him & his friend start their own traditions and start to plan how they're going to hunt a piece of property & watching them try their strategy out (which hasn't worked so far - but they're learning and as long as they're not doing anything too stupid or obviously dangerous we're content to let them try most things out for themselves - if nothing else - it shuts them up about trying it when it doesn't work) That's my relaxing time.
 
#22 ·
Hey steelhead great discussion.

I have evolved into a calm and collected. My young family has helped me stay in this category. Even before I had a child, I was settling into calm and collected for my BEST hunting locations. If I wanted to be “Mr. Get at it” I had low percentage stands for that. Plus I had done enough of that early on in my bowhunting career.

All that being said... my spirit is anxious and I still feel like I wanna be out. It’s bow season, it’s what I save my points for.
 
#23 ·
I'm the type to wait for the right conditions as opposed to hunting every chance I get, simply because I've learned that hunting the wrong conditions can alert and change the patterns of the deer in the area you hunt.

That being said, I would prefer everyone on properties surrounding the one I'm hunting to be the enthusiastic kind.:smile2:
 
#24 ·
I'm in the woods this time of year any minute I can. BUT, I have enough stands set that I can stay out of ones that I 'save' for the exact right scenario.

I set up a few that can be 'overhunted' without me worrying too much, I call them observation stands. I just sit with binoculars with no real expectation of killing anything. I'm in the woods though.
 
#26 ·
Until I am retired and have the ability to hunt anytime that I would like, I fall into #2. I get out when I can. But I do have multiple stand locations selected and only hunt most of these spots when the conditions are correct. I hang and hunt for 95% of my hunts so very rarely do I ever hunt the same location more than a few times a season. Having multiple stand locations selected allows me to vary my locations by almost every wind direction imaginable.
 
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